Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-08-24
WRECKED AT THE ""
Singular and Fatal Railway Accident at
Washington.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., Aug. 1.-THE few
residents in the neighborhood of the
Baltimore & Ohio ''Y" who were up
and on the street at $50 o'clock this
morning witnessed singular and start
ling scene. It was 10 less a spectacle
than that Of train OF cars leaping from
the track and rushing with the speed of
lightning and the crash of thunderbolt
through brick house. In an instant
the train and the house were IN heap
of ruins, and the track tor some distance
was Uttered with debris.
The train to which the accident oc-
Cured was train No. 4, the st. Louis,
Chicago & Cincinnati express, coming
from the West. About $50 1T came
laundering into the city over the Met
ropoitan branch, and at the curve,
nearly mile away from the began
whistling "down brakes" For some
reason the brakes were not put down.
The air brakes, it was stated did not
work and the engineer began blowing
his distress whistle for the brakemen to
put on the regular brakes. Either the
brakeman did not heed the signal or it
was not given in time to be of use, for
the train, flying at irighttul rate, came
laundering on toward the sharp curve
at the "I. /"
On the south side of the "Y" in the
little corner made by the intersection of
the tracks was located the railroad sig
nal tower, a brick structure, three stories
high, where railroad men are employed
to regulate the signals and the switches
at the "Y" When the train turned the
sharp curve of the "Y" with fearful
headwav. the cars behind the engine
flew the track and smashed into the
signal tower. In an instant there was
q wreck which for confusion has
seldom been eQualled in railroad an
nails The engine was dragged from the
track and pioughing through the dirt and
mud distance of 80 feet rolled COM
pletelyOyer. Near the engine lay Hamll-
ton Brosius, the engineer, crushed and
dying, and his fireman with several
bones broken. But behind the engine
was scene of panic and contus-
ion. One car was crushed and nearly
buried under the tracks and
timbers of the demolished building.
Two sleeping coaches and one passenger
coach remained on the track. The
mail car, tie express car and the bag
gage car were rolled over and their sides
were crushed. The roof of one car pro-
truded from the ruins of the building.
The disaster, OF course, at once created
intense excitement. A fire alarm was
sounded. which quickly brought the
fire department and police to the scene.
AmbuIanceS were hurriedly sent for,
and corps OF physicians came, sum-
moned from every direction. FIremen,
policemen, railroad men and the cltl-
Zens went to work with coats Oft to clear
out the debris. Many injured passen-
gers were removed and taken to neigh
l. n
or to hospitals. In this way
eighteen or twenty people were
got out Of the wreck, some of them
only slightly injured, others with bones
broken and bodies badly bruised and
cut In the signal tower, on tie upper
floor, or observatory, William Baxter, 8
railroad signal man. was at work. He
realized the impending danger in time
and !eaped from the tower to the
ground He broke his arm IN the fall
and was badly used up. He escaped
more serious injury.
Some Of the passengers OF the wrecked
train returned to their Western homes
instead of continuing on their journey
to the East The following IS believed
to be full list of the injured. They
were sent to the Providence hospital
with the exception of Healy and Bax.
ter: Charles Koch, Cincinnati, badly
injured IN the back; Mrs
CharIe Koch, Cincinnati, slightly shock
ed; Charles Morrison, Cincinnati, in
iured in the back; Frank Denauer, st
Louis. shoulder dislocated; j. &. Smith
fireman, Cincinnati, both legs broken
Wilhelm Buck, Cincinnati, head cut bad
lv; Ed Lechmeyer, Cincinnati, slightl.
Injured Joseph Healy, Washington
seriously injured; Will Baxter, telegraph
operator. Washington, painfully injured
about the head. The injuries OF MI
Koch may prove fatal. The Chicago anC
Cincinnati sleepers did not leave tn
track